A History Of Record-Breaking Verdicts

We do not back down from a challenge and make sure that all of our clients receive the justice they deserve.

Representative Matters

Wrongful Death

In
Alexander v. Sheraton, et al. Fox TV News called it "historic justice." Popular national and legal media called it the largest award for a minor who drowned in history. A $3.1 million settlement was reached on the eve of trial. Craig Tobin, Tomas Petkus and Paula Tobin were proud to have successfully represented Roseanne Alexander and the Estate of Damarco Alexander in their pursuit of justice. Damarco died at the Four Points Sheraton O'Hare hotel. He was attending his 14th birthday party. He entered the pool with friends. He slipped from the shallow to the deep end. The water clarity was so poor that he could not be found for more than 20 minutes. The defendants included Sheraton Hotel Corporation and the limited partnership that had the license agreement to operate the hotel. The defendants claimed that the cause of Damarco's death was his inability to swim. We proved that the pool should not have been open that day because of chronic water turbidity. The pool had been open on many prior days in violation of Illinois safety regulations. Pools open to the public should not place children at risk. Tragically, Damarco died because the turbidity of the water — the reason the pool should not have been open prevented his timely rescue.

We represented the estate of Jaeson Tobin, his widow Julia and their three children in a wrongful death lawsuit. Jaeson was a youth pastor and assistant principal at the Tomah Baptist Church and school in Tomah, Wisconsin. Jaeson was Pastor Ronald Tobin's son. Pastor Tobin is name partner Craig Tobin's brother. Jaeson was killed on a two-lane highway en route to visit members of the church. A truck operated by Werner Enterprises and driven by Billie Jo Lassell was hauling product from a Wal-Mart. The truck had been at a stop sign, but pulled onto the two-lane highway and into Jaeson's path. He began to make an evasive turn but crashed into the truck. He was killed. Tobin & Munoz filed a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, assisted in the case by Frank Pasternak. (Pasternak, like Tobin, is also a Super Lawyer, given that designation by his peers in Wisconsin). The lawsuit settled.

Brown, et. al. v. Ferrellgas, Inc., et al. (Georgia) We successfully represented the estate and children of a heavy equipment operator killed in crash in a wrongful death suit in Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of the largest settlements in Fulton County for this type of case.
Resolved 2002.

Catastrophic Injury

A retired Chicago firefighter enjoyed an active life until one day, during a ride on his motorcycle, the bike went out of control. The crash left him a quadriplegic. The firm helped him and his wife sue the motorcycle manufacturer and prove that the crash was a design defect, not a result of human or environmental error. Before the jury could reach a verdict, the lawsuit settled — a win for this couple whose lives were forever changed because of a defective product.

Personal Injury

In 1997, Chicago was focused on the highly publicized case of Jeremiah Mearday, who was beaten by police officers. With the defense of Tobin & Muñoz, the jury acquitted Mearday of criminal charges of police battery and felony drug possession. The city later agreed to pay Mearday
$1.75 million for post-traumatic stress disorder and other injuries related to police misconduct. The city dismissed two officers involved in the beating.

$4 million for a woman who suffered soft-tissue injuries at the hands of a Chicago police officer while she was marching in the gay pride parade, and
$1.55 million in the case of a transit supervisor falsely arrested, brutalized and injured by Chicago police officers after she explained she could not "fix" a parking ticket.

Sexual Harassment

Tobin & Muñoz successfully defended an elected official and management employees accused of sexually harassing the plaintiff, an intern. The plaintiff abandoned her lawsuit and the court dismissed it with prejudice. The firm found evidence that showed the plaintiff praised the accused supervisor's workplace conduct and expressed gratitude for the overwhelmingly positive experiences working for him.

The firm obtained a not-guilty judgment for a company and its president against Title VII sexual harassment claims. The alleged damages were in the tens of millions of dollars for a hostile environment, sexual assaults and other allegations in United States District Court. The evidence presented by the firm's attorneys included a computerized recorded statement between the plaintiff and the defendant, which was initially inaudible before it was enhanced. The not-guilty judgment was the subject of several articles and periodicals discussing the technology used.

Roberts v. Spears, et al. We successfully represented the estate, widow and child of a patient who died due to medical negligence and obtained a substantial settlement.

Fiduciary Duty

Touhy v. Simon, et. al. We obtained a substantial settlement for the beneficiary of a trust, the widow of the former Speaker of the House, who was victimized by her former trustee, the late Speaker's attorney. Simon breached his fiduciary duty by engaging in conflicts of interest, neglecting the trusts' financial affairs and ignoring the thefts of a forger who was looting the trust estate.

Employment Discrimination

Confidential v. Confidential, et. al. We successfully represented the lead group of 29 African-American workers in class claims of racially based employment discrimination. More than 300 African-American employees suffered discrimination for decades in wages, benefits, salary, advancement and opportunity due to their race.